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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

Since the recession, private label products have become more popular than ever, and it looks as though consumers will stick with private label even as the economy recovers. Meanwhile, brand names are taking innovative measures to ensure their products’ continued success.

The VAC-U-MAX (Belleville, NJ) Model 860/02 is for managers who want to eliminate drum handling and collect powders in a safe, dust-free, and convenient way. It uses the VAC-U-Max Air-Powered Vacuum cover with the manual pulse-jet filter cleaning system and a non-stick filtration, which captures 99.

JLM Systems Limited (Richmond, BC, Canada) has developed the OILMISER Vapor Guard (OVG), which is designed for lubricated gearboxes and bearing houses that are vented to atmosphere. Continuous operation, rotating parts at high speeds, and high working loads will all generate heat and oil mist inside a gearbox, but the OVG helps condense the mist at the bottom of a containment chamber.

Boston Gear (Charlotte, NC) has launched a new line of stainless steel motors, which have been engineered for better washdown performance, according to the company. The exterior construction consists of a 300 Series stainless steel housing, end bells, output shaft, and conduit box. The motors also use double lip shaft seals, a rubber gasket seal on the conduit cover, O-rings between end bells and the housing, and a smooth exterior with no mounting feat.

A couple years ago I was consulting in a large rolling mill to help reduce late deliveries to customers. After walking the floor for the first time with an enthusiastic 20-something engineer, let’s call him Mark, I asked for help with observation at a particular point in the factory where inventory was queuing up.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were poised to open higher Friday after a report showed that the U.S. economy is growing.
The Commerce Department said that U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, grew at an annual rate of 3.2 percent between October and December. That's up from the 2.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Lawyers representing the environmentalists behind a media hoax targeting Koch Industries Inc. have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by the Wichita-based company seeking the pranksters' identities.
The Washington-based Public Citizen Litigation Group said the lawsuit would have a chilling effect on anonymous Internet communications and basic First Amendment rights.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It's a cloudy morning at Daytona International Speedway, but Mark Riccobono can't tell, nor does it really matter to him.
He walks up to the driver's side of a black, Ford Escape Hybrid parked on the start-finish line, opens the door, sits down and adjusts his seat.

Hyundai Motor's 4th-quarter net profit hits record
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hyundai Motor's net profit jumped 48 percent in the fourth quarter to a record high as the automaker reaped gains from strong overseas sales.
Hyundai said Thursday that it earned 1.4 trillion won ($1.

Taco Bell is launching an advertising campaign Friday to fight back against a lawsuit charging its taco filling isn't beef.
The fast-food chain placed full-page print ads in Friday's editions of the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times and other papers as well as online ads to "set the record straight," company President Greg Creed told The Associated Press.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford earned its biggest profit in more than a decade in 2010 as robust car and truck sales and years of cost cuts paid off for the company.
The results disappointed Wall Street, however, and Ford's stock price fell 6 percent to $17.73 in premarket trading. The reaction hinted at the difficulties the company still faces, even though it's remade itself in recent years.

CLEVELAND – BDI recently announced the acquisition of Gopher Bearing Company’s St. Paul and Winona, Minnesota locations, effective January 1, 2011.
Gopher Bearing Company has served businesses in the Twins Cities area since 1946.
St. Paul-based Gopher Bearing, a division of BDI, will provide enhanced support and solutions to customers in the Twin Cities.

An American company seeking to make headway in the foreign-dominated electric car battery industry will be in the spotlight Wednesday when Vice President Joe Biden visits its plant in central Indiana.
Biden will be in Greenfield, about 25 miles east of Indianapolis, to visit an Ener1 Inc.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's call to lower corporate tax rates is popular among business leaders and lawmakers from both parties. That support, however, won't be easy to maintain if the president ever gets specific about how to pay for the lower taxes.
Obama said in his State of the Union address that he wants to close corporate tax loopholes and use the additional revenue to lower corporate tax rates for the first time in 25 years — without adding to the budget deficit.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google Inc. plans to hire more than 6,200 workers this year — boosting its work force by at least a quarter — in the biggest expansion yet by the Internet's most profitable company.
The hiring spree comes as President Barack Obama emphasized the need for more jobs during his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

ROSCOE, Ill. (AP) — There's some good economic news on the horizon for the northern Illinois community of Roscoe.
The Rockford Register Star reports that American Aluminum Extrusions Co. intends to open a plant in Roscoe that will create 130 jobs by 2013.
Village President Dave Krienke says the Beloit, Wis.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — It may be time to stop referring to China, the world's second-biggest economy after the U.S., as an emerging nation and focus on creating jobs now that the global recovery appears to have gotten a toehold.
That's what top business leaders, politicians and social activists discussed, among other issues, on the first day of the World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing Co. won a $1.6 billion to build the P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the U.S. Navy.
The company said Tuesday the contract calls for the delivery of six of the aircraft, along with spares, logistics and training devices.
Boeing said the Navy ultimately plans to buy 117 of the 737-based aircraft, which are used for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, and surveillance.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota recalled nearly 1.7 million cars worldwide Wednesday for fuel leaks, the latest in a ballooning number of quality problems that could add another dent to its tarnished reputation in the crucial U.S. market.
Toyota's latest recalls are mostly in Japan, but they also include the IS and GS Lexus luxury models in North America, where the world's No.